4 out of 5

Label: knw-yr-own

Produced by: ?

I have the regular ol’ edition of this; the special edition – more expensive, naturally – was “pre destroyed,” as per the title. That cheekiness, combined with the wholly acquired taste of the D+ sound of kermit-voiced Bret Lunsford “harmonizing” over clumsily plunked acoustic melodies and handclap percussion, likely relegates the album to a particular breed of indulgent indie pop. …Yes, and I’ll never blame anyone for instantly noping out on that.

For those of us who’ve kept on with the project – maybe we’re Beat Happening fans; maybe the presence of Phil Elverum appeals; or maybe, gasp, we just like the sound – I’d join a rallying cry that asks listeners for some patience, proving out the clever punch of Brett’s words, and the forever earworms of the tunes, adding up to a sing-songy memorableness that overcomes the cheek.

Yes again, but also again: there are arguments against all this stuff, and even as a fan, the group crosses over into campfire cloyingness on occasion.

Going back to the album title, though, the press copy suggests somehow enacting its instructions, and if we consider that alongside the album dropping as a surprise after a ten year gap, I think there’s justification for viewing ‘Destroy’ as a standout in D+’s catalogue, if not in quality then in tone and structure as well. I mean, top down, this is much the same – it sounds exactly like D+, and some songs aren’t too far from lil’ ditties they’ve structured before. But, handclaps aside, this is also much more solo Lunsford sounding than before, and there’s a bit of restraint both musically and lyrically, whether brought on by the changing tastes of age, or life happenstances, or some other purposeful or accidental overlay, or who knows. The songs are loose, but more in a one-take sense than the occasionally forced sounding ramshackle of yore; the rather unpointed lyrics are always a soft spot on these things, but Bret’s thoughts circle around some more willfully gray territory, plucking at personal confoundings and almost getting stirred up to anger on tracks like Citizen United, or being past resignment on Screen. I think the selling point for me is the spoken word proem of Know Your Place, which verges on that kind of cringey campfire vibe, as Bret tells us what the song’s about, but at the same time the POV flip-flopping and slippery use of words sounds confused – like he had a point and then it escaped him. There’s something compelling about that that prevents it from slipping into cringe. It’s not my favorite song on the album by any means, but it’s where I started to hear the album a bit differently than just D+ norm.

Not that I would start here for new listeners, although it’s representative enough to make the grade. For followers, I think it satisfies in some key ways: it’s like we never left, giving us more of that D+ simplicity, but there’s also some new layers here that make it a fitting post-script (at this point) to the group’s catalogue.